Aria's Choice
by stormy.grace
Summary: What happens when Aria finds herself in a sticky situation and Mona is the first one to find out about it? Can she trust Mona? Does she have a choice?
1. Chapter 1

"Mr. Fitz?"

Ezra looked up from the stack of last week's tests he was grading and smiled at Mona, who seemed to have more personalities than one person should be allowed and a separate wardrobe to go with each. He had noticed that ever since the fire at the lodge she had gone back to her trendy, stylish clothes and favored side ponytails. He couldn't help but wonder if this was the real Mona or just a façade. "Mona. What's up?"

She entered the room and noted that it was empty other than the two of them. "I just stopped by to pick up Aria's assignments to take over to her."

Aria had been absent for a week. Ezra had noticed, but hadn't worried until the third day. He had asked her friends if she was okay, like any teacher would. They could have told him that she had some sort of stomach flu and would be back soon, but they had been honest with him. None of them were exactly sure why she wasn't at school. She wasn't feeling well, but they weren't sure if she was sick or if it was something else.

"Is she feeling any better?" he asked as he took a small stack of papers out of his desk drawer and handed them over.

Mona shrugged. "I'm not sure. It's been a week. I assume she's getting better because I haven't heard anything otherwise, but I haven't actually talked to her in a few days."

She took the papers and tucked them into her bag, flashing Ezra a smile. "Thanks. I'll tell her you asked."

"Okay." He said as she turned and headed for the door. "Mona."

Mona paused and turned back to face him.

"Can I ask you something?"

There were students and faculty members still in the hallway so she discretely closed the door and walked back over to his desk, looking into his eyes. "Why me?"

Ezra's first instinct was to deny that that had been his question because of the direct way she was looking at him. He quickly realized that there was no sense in denying it. She knew he was wondering and she would know he was lying. Lying to Mona, after everything she had put the girls, and him, through over the last couple of years simply seemed like a waste of time. So he didn't. "Yeah."

Mona's face softened as she smiled. "It does seem a little weird, doesn't it? After everything I've done."

She paused for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to word it. She couldn't exactly tell him that A was still at large and was now forcing her and the girls to work together whether they liked it or not. Or could she? He knew a lot already, but she knew that Aria hadn't told him everything and she wasn't sure spilling the whole truth right now would help her out any with the girls.

She lied easily. It was as natural as breathing. "We've decided to see if we can put the past behind us and be friends. To be perfectly honest, I practically had to beg the other girls to let me bring Aria her assignments. None of them really trust me yet. I'm trying to take it one baby step at a time and prove to them that they _can_ trust me. That I'm done with A, and that I'm sorry."

"Are you?" Ezra asked.

Mona nodded. "Yes, Ezra. I am truly sorry for _everything_."

She wanted to tell him that she hadn't been the one pulling all the strings, but she didn't. Instead, she simply hoped that he believed her and could forgive her.

"I want to believe you." He said.

"But you're not sure if you can." She finished. "I still have to earn your trust too.'

He nodded slightly and switched back to teacher mode when Mrs. Welch came in. "If Aria has any questions tell her to come see me when she gets back. And tell her I hope she's feeling better soon."

"I will." Mona said, glancing over her shoulder at Mrs. Welch and smiling as if nothing out of the ordinary had been going on. "Have a nice weekend Mr. Fitz!"

"You too Mona." Ezra said and turned his attention to his colleague.

Mona left the room and paused in the now nearly empty hallway. She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She wasn't relieved that Mrs. Welch hadn't overheard their conversation. She was relieved that Ezra had remained civil and that she hadn't broken down and begged him to forgive her. She was relieved that he seemed to be able to treat her like any other student even though he knew that she had been the one messing with his relationship with Aria.

"Mona? Are you okay?"

Mona looked up and saw Hanna. She smiled weakly and nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. I'm gonna go drop off Aria's homework. Wanna come with?"

"I would, but I have a thing with Caleb." Hanna said.

It might be true, but Mona knew that Hanna was using it as an excuse. Hanna was having a harder time accepting Mona into the group than the rest of them. Mona understood that and tried hard not to let it hurt her, though she desperately wanted to get back to where they had once been. She smiled again. "Okay. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah. Bye." Hanna waved and walked in the opposite direction.

Mona glanced back at Ezra's doorway, sensing his presence and realized that he had witnessed that whole little scene between her and Hanna. She smiled and turned away, walking down the hall as if nothing were wrong.

Ezra watched her disappear around the corner and realized that he felt sorry for her. She had brought it on herself, but it had to be hard for her trying to fit back in.


	2. Chapter 2

"Knock, knock!" Mona chirped as she appeared in the doorway of Aria's bedroom.

Aria propped herself up on her elbows and stared at Mona. "I'm the only one home and the doors were locked. Do you have a key to my house too?"

"Yeah…" Mona said, sounding and looking apologetic. "Sorry. I started to ring the bell, but I thought you might be asleep and I didn't want to disturb you."

"So you let yourself in to what…watch me sleep?"

"No. I brought you your homework." Mona said. "You've been out for a week and we thought you might want to catch up some."

"Oh. Thanks."

"Can I come in?" Mona asked.

Aria nodded and sat up, shifting so that Mona could sit on the bed. "Have I missed a lot?"

Mona busied herself with digging Aria's things out of her bag. "Not really. Just the usual school stuff. Are you feeling any better? Everyone's worried about you."

"Everyone?"

"Ezra." Mona amended.

Aria took the stack of books and papers Mona handed her and set them to the side. "Well, you can tell him that I'm just fine."

"Are you?" Mona asked, looking at her. "You don't look fine. You look like you've been crying."

"I have, and I'm fine now." Aria insisted. "Ezra doesn't need to worry about me anymore than my other teachers do."

Mona could sense that Aria was holding something in, but wasn't sure how to get it out. She didn't want to push or pry and give Aria a reason to shut her out even more. For whatever reason, Aria seemed to be warming to her faster than the other girls. Maybe because of the fact that whoever had tried to strangle her in her car a few weeks ago had turned around and tried to run over both of them and Emily. They were all lucky that they had gotten away with only Emily's shoulder injury, which was fairly mild compared to what could have happened.

They fell into an awkward silence and Mona let her gaze wander around the room. Her eyes were drawn by something on Aria's beside table and they grew wide when she realized what she was looking at.

Aria also realized what Mona was looking at and quickly snatched it up in a vain attempt to hide it.

"Is that what I think it is?" Mona asked.

"No. Of course not." Aria answered quickly. She looked at Mona, realized she had been caught, and sighed. "Yes. It's exactly what you think it is."

Mona felt a quick surge of panic and easily quashed it, managing to keep her voice and face calm as she stared at the pregnancy test in Aria's hands. "Have you taken it yet?"

Aria nodded. "I've taken three."

"And?" Mona urged gently.

"And I'm pregnant." Aria stated as simply as if she was sharing the fact that she had eaten an apple.

Mona wasn't exactly sure how to react. Aria was pregnant. They both sat in silence for a moment until the questions in Mona's head suddenly burst out of her mouth. "Is that why you've been absent?"

Aria nodded.

"Have you told anyone?"

Aria shook her head. "No. No one but you."

"Is it…" Mona couldn't make her mouth form the last word. It had gone completely dry.

"Ezra's." Aria confirmed.

She had been seeing Jake, her martial arts teacher, since they had almost been run over, but there was no way it could be his baby. They were still in the awkward beginning stages of their relationship, and he was trying to give her space to deal with her breakup with Ezra and the feelings she still had for him. The most they had done was kiss. This baby was Ezra's. There was no doubt about it.

"How far along are you?" Mona asked.

"About a month." Aria said. "It happened just before we broke up. I've only know for about a week."

"So you were pregnant when…"

"When A, or whoever that was, tried to flatten us in your car." Aria said. "And I was pregnant that night at the lodge."

For some reason that made everything seem so much worse and Mona acted on impulse, leaning in and wrapping her arms around Aria. "Oh sweetie!"

Aria stiffened at the unexpected embrace from her former torturer, but relaxed after a moment and returned the hug. She realized that she needed it. It felt good to tell someone, to share the news. Mona wasn't exactly her first choice, but she was here.

"It's okay." Mona said as Aria rested her head on her shoulder and began to cry. She rubbed her back gently. "Everything's going to be okay."

After everything that Mona had put her through, after all the lies and deceit, why, Aria wondered, did she believe that? Why did she suddenly feel safe with Mona?


	3. Chapter 3

Aria sniffled and wiped at her tear streaked face, vaguely happy she wasn't wearing any makeup at the moment. She had cried a lot this week and she had thought, and hoped, that she wouldn't be able to cry anymore. At least not for a while. She had been wrong, but this time she felt better instead of worse. She had needed to tell someone and truly let it out. She didn't realize it yet, but she had just forged a new path with the one person she had thought she would never feel completely comfortable with.

Mona's face was full of concern and sympathy as she gave Aria's hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze. "Why don't you go wash your face and I'll go downstairs and make us some tea, and we can talk if you want?"

Aria sniffed once more and nodded. She didn't say anything, because there was nothing to say at the moment. She simply got up and went into the bathroom she shared with her brother. She wasn't concerned about the fact that Mona was now walking around her house unsupervised. She was simply glad to have someone else that knew the new secret she was carrying.

She hadn't showered in a couple of days and thought about taking a quick bath, but just the thought of turning on the water seemed like climbing Mt. Everest right now. So she turned on the sink, wet a wash cloth, and gave herself a quick sponge bath. She brushed her hair and put it up in a ponytail to get it out of her face, cringing slightly at the greasy feel of it.

Mona was sitting in the living room when Aria came downstairs. She had put a pot of water on to boil and a tray was ready and waiting on the counter. She looked perfectly at home in the Montgomery's living room, as if she had been coming over for years, and Aria found that only slightly odd.

"Feel any better?" Mona asked.

Aria sat down beside Mona, keeping a little space between them. No matter how she had felt about Mona a few minutes ago, she hadn't forgotten the past. "Yeah. A little."

Mona noticed the fact that Aria was keeping her distance, and thought she was mildly hurt, she understood. Aria may have confided in her and cried on her shoulder, but that didn't mean she trusted her any more than she ever had.

Mona wanted to know everything, but she knew that Aria may not want to tell her anything. So she spoke carefully, making sure her voice and face showed no hint of disapproval or condescension. She wanted to convey her support. Aria needed that right now, and at the moment Mona was the only one that could provide it.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked casually.

"There's not really anything to talk about." Aria said. "I'm pregnant. That's it."

"It's funny, isn't it?"

Aria was confused by the sudden turn in the conversation and her tired face showed it. "Funny that I'm pregnant? I'm seventeen, and the father is our teacher. I don't see the humor."

"It's funny how words can have such different meanings depending on the situation." Mona explained. "You're pregnant. A new life is growing inside you. People generally think of that as a good thing. A joyous occasion worthy of celebration. But because of your age, the father's occupation, and the laws that say your relationship is wrong it's completely different. Instead of celebrating and shouting it from the rooftops, you're scared and hiding in your room, pretending that you're sick."

Aria gave her a quizzical look. She was right, but her speech seemed a little odd for some reason. "And?"

Mona shrugged. "I just think it's unfair. You shouldn't have to feel scared."

"Well, I do." Aria said as the pot on the stove whistled. "And I have good reason to be scared."

Mona got up and walked into the kitchen. She poured hot water into the cups, placed tea bags in them, and carried the tray back to the living room. She set it on the table and let Aria fix her cup how she liked.

"Besides the fact that I'm seventeen and Ezra is my teacher and the law says it's wrong, my parents will have a cow if they find out." Aria said as she spooned sugar into her cup. "And if A finds out…I don't even want to think about what could happen."

Mona stopped stirring her tea and placed her hand on Aria's arm. "Aria, right now you don't need to worry about your parents or A. You can figure that out later. Right now you need to be thinking about how you're going to tell Ezra."

"I can't tell Ezra." Aria said. "I can't do that to him."

"You have to tell him." Mona argued. "For one thing, I'm pretty sure he's smart enough to do the math and figure out it's his. And do you really want to put him through that again?"

"Mona," Aria started to argue, but she was cut off.

"Maggie kept Malcolm a secret for seven years." Mona said.

"Because his mother paid her off."

"But he found out, and look what happened."

Aria looked at Mona. "You make it sound like it's a bad thing."

"No, but it completely turned his life upside down." Mona pointed out. "And you relationship."

Aria couldn't argue with that, but she wasn't sure if she could tell him that she was pregnant. "Mona, I know Ezra. If I tell him I'm pregnant he's gonna want to be…involved. And he deserves to be, but I can't let him do that. I know him. He'll put his job on the line, his _life_. I can't let him do that. I can't take tat risk."

"Okay. Let's look at it this way." Mona said, changing tactics. "You don't tell Ezra, but you have to tell your parents eventually. And we both know that A will find out one way or another. _Somebody_ will tell Ezra. Isn't it better that he hears it from you?"

"There's no sense in telling anyone." Aria said firmly. "I'm not keeping it."

Mona was shocked and hoped that Aria didn't mean what she thought she meant. "What do you mean you're not keeping it?"

"I can't, Mona. There's no possible way I can have this baby."

Mona's heart fell into her stomach as she realized exactly what Aria was talking about. "Aria, are you sure?"

Aria nodded. "I have no choice. If I have the baby, even if I don't keep it, people will figure it out. They'll know it's Ezra's baby, and that would get him in so much trouble. Like I said, I can't take that risk. I won't."

"Oh Aria." Mona whispered as Aria started crying again. Once more she put her arms around her and tried to comfort her.

Suddenly she realized that she was crying to. When she had begged the girls to let her be the one to bring Aria her homework she had had no idea what she was walking into. Maybe she should have let Spencer handle it. For the first time in a long time she felt like she was in over her head and she wasn't sure what to do.

**Author Note – Just so you guys know, I'm NOT pro-abortion AT ALL. I'm pro-choice. I'm also not trying to make any kind of political or moral statement. I just thought this would be a very interesting storyline for Aria, and a good way to expand my writing and creativity. **


	4. Chapter 4

Everyone was glad to see Aria back at school the following Monday, and part of her was glad to be back. She was tired of hiding under her covers and crying by herself. She hadn't talked to any of the girls since her little heart-to-heart with Mona on Friday, but she had decided that she should let them know what was going on. She knew she could trust them not to completely freak out or do something stupid that could land them in prison.

She found them all sitting at a table in the courtyard when she arrived at school. Caleb and Paige were sitting with them. She trusted both of them, but wasn't ready to let them in on her not-so-little secret just yet. If ever.

Emily spotted her and smiled. "Aria! You're back."

Aria smiled back and walked over to join them, accepting a warm hug from Spencer. "Yep. I'm back."

"Are you feeling better?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah." She said. "Much better." She turned her smile on Mona. "And thank you for bringing me my homework on Friday."

Mona smiled back. She was dying to ask if Aria had given any more thought to how to handle her situation, but now wasn't the right time. "What are friends for?"

Aria noticed the doubtful looks on Caleb and Paige's faces, but didn't say anything. She was still getting used to thinking of Mona as a friend herself. And that was only because she had no other choice. A was forcing them to team up with Mona, which meant that they had to form some kind of friendship if they wanted to figure anything out. Even if that friendship was forced and extremely awkward.

The bell rang and everyone spilt up to go to their respective classes. Mona trotted after Aria, taking her arm and lowering her voice so no one else would hear her. "I did some research for you."

"On what?" Aria asked.

"On what we talked about Friday afternoon." Mona said, pulling out a packet of papers stapled at the corner. "How you want to handle your situation."

Aria took the papers and stuffed them in her bag. "Mona, I didn't ask you to do that."

"No, but I thought it might help." Mona said. "I'm not trying to talk you out of it. I just want you to be informed when you decide. It's not like you're picking out a pair of shoes."

"I know that." Aria whispered. "And I've already decided."

"Just promise me you'll read what I found. Please?"

Aria sighed. She knew there was no sense in arguing with Mona. "Okay. I'll read it. Thank you."

"And I still think you need to tell Ezra."

"No."

Aria pulled her arm free from Mona's grasp and walked away. Mona stood in the middle of the hallway and watched her go. She was worried about what might happen if A found out what was going on. Aria needed to tell Ezra before someone else did.

She saw Ezra walking toward her and for a fleeting second considered telling him herself. But that would be a stupid move on her part. Yes, Ezra had a right to know, but it wasn't her place to tell him. That was Aria's job, and Mona didn't want to risk ruining the progress she had made with the girls. If she betrayed Aria and told Ezra she couldn't even hope that Aria would forgive her for it. She would lose the little bit of trust she had earned. And Aria was right. Ezra wasn't the kind of guy to just sit around and let Aria handle the whole thing on her own. Once he knew he would want to be involved in whatever decision was made, and that could cause major problems for him.

"Mona?"

Ezra's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she realized that she was standing, rooted to the floor in the middle of the hall. Students were walking around her like a river flowing around a rock. She smiled at him. "Good morning, Mr. Fitz."

"Good morning." Ezra replied, looking slightly confused. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. I was just lost in thought. Nothing to worry about."

He wasn't so sure, but he accepted her answer. "Okay."

"See you in class later." She chirped and waved as she walked away.

Ezra stood watching her for a moment, wondering how someone could switch from one mood to another so quickly. Whatever she had been thinking about was clearly bothering her, but you wouldn't know it by the way she smiled.

_I will never understand that girl_, he thought, shaking his head as he entered his classroom and prepared to start the day.


	5. Chapter 5

"So, how's Jake?" Spencer asked after school.

The five of them were sitting in the Hastings' living room with books and papers spread all around them.

Aria smiled. "He's fine."

"Uh huh." Spencer muttered.

They all heard her.

Aria put down her pencil and looked at her best friend. "Okay Spence. I get it. You're Team Ezra. But that's not going to happen, so can't you at least give Jake a chance? I like him."

Spencer, Emily, and Hanna all stared at her, surprised at her sudden outburst.

Mona reached over and patted Aria's arm. "Chill, Aria. No need to bite her head off."

"You're right. I'm sorry, Spence." Aria apologized.

"No." Spencer argued. "I'm sorry. You're right. I am Team Ezra, and I should give Jake a chance. I'm sure he's a nice guy. It's just…we know that we can trust Ezra. What do you really know about Jake?"

"No more than I knew about Ezra in the beginning." Aria said.

"Why don't we focus on homework instead of Aria's love life?" Emily suggested.

"Actually," Aria said as her friends started to go back to their books. "We need to talk about my love life. There's something I need to tell you guys."

"We're listening." Hanna said, her eyes lighting up in expectation of juicy details. "What's going on with Mr. Miyagi?"

Spencer and Emily shot her a look for her joking reference, but Aria glanced at Mona, looking for support and reassurance that she was doing the right thing.

Mona nodded and gave her a sympathetic look. "Go ahead."

"Wait, Mona knows?" Hanna interrupted before Aria could speak. She paused and looked at Mona. "Of course Mona knows."

"Because she told me." Mona insisted. "I wouldn't know if you guys hadn't let me bring her her homework last week."

"Guys," Emily stepped in before an argument could break out. "Who cares? Let Aria tell us whatever it is she has to tell us."

Aria waited for a moment to make sure she actually did have the floor. "First of all, it has nothing to do with Jake. Mr. Miyagi? Really, Hanna?"

Hanna shrugged. "He's your karate teacher. Where else am I gonna go?"

"What's going on, Aria?" Spencer demanded gently, trying to keep everyone on track.

Aria took a deep breath and spit out the words before she could change her mind. "I'm pregnant."

Her friends stared at her and her phone rang. She knew who it was before she opened the message. She always knew.

"_I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date! No time to say hello, good-bye. I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" Looks like your white rabbit just died. –A_

"That was sooner than I expected." Aria said as she stared at the picture A had attached of the pregnancy test Mona had found in her room. "A knows."

Three pairs of eyes shifted accusingly to Mona.

"I swear I had nothing to do with that!" Mona exclaimed, defending herself. She looked pleadingly at Aria. "You believe me, right?"

Aria started to side with the others, but one look at Mona's face told her she shouldn't. It could be an act, but she didn't think so. "Yes. I believe you, Mona."

"Why weren't you using protection?" Spencer demanded.

"We were." Aria insisted. "But it broke."

"So Ezra knows there's a possibility that you could be pregnant?" Mona asked. "Why didn't you tell me that the other day?"

"What does it matter? I'm not telling him."

Emily looked at her with wide eyes. "Aria, you have to tell him."

"Won't he figure it out eventually?" Hanna asked. "It'll be pretty obvious in a few months, right?"

"I'm not keeping it." Aria said and explained everything to her friends. "I read all that stuff you gave me, Mona. I'm going with the pill. If I do it in-clinic I have to have my parents' permission, and I'm _not_ going there."

"Don't you have to have a prescription or something?" Hanna asked.

Aria looked at Spencer. "I was hoping maybe Wren could help me get it. That way I can have…supervision, and no one has to know."

Spencer wanted to say no. A voice in her head was screaming that this was the wrong way to handle the situation, but she agreed with Aria. What other choice did she have if she wanted to keep Ezra out of trouble? Instead of arguing she offered to help. "I'll go with you to talk to him, but please Aria, you have to tell Ezra. What if he finds out after?"

"It'll be too late for him to do anything stupid." Aria said.

Spencer took one look at Mona and realized that she had also been trying to convince Aria to tell Ezra about the baby. But Aria's mind was made up, and her logic made sense.


	6. Chapter 6

"Spencer?"

Wren's voice in her ear made Spencer's heart flutter a little. She knew it was because she still felt something for him even though Toby was the one she loved. She told herself it was just the accent and his charming personality. "Yeah. Hi. I need your help with something."

Aria sat across from Spencer. She was grasping Mona's hand as if it was her last lifeline and chewing on her bottom lip in nervous anticipation. Emily and Hanna sat quietly looking on. The looks on their faces were almost sad as they waited to hear what Wren's answer would be when Spencer explained her favor. They all knew that he could get in trouble for helping them with this, or that he could say no. If that happened Aria would have no choice but to go to her parents and have them okay the abortion.

"I'll help if I can." Wren said, wondering if she was in some sort of trouble again. "What is it?"

"Is there any way you can help me get an abortion pill?" Spencer asked. She noted that Aria was now bouncing her knees nervously. "Without anyone knowing?"

"What? Spencer, are you pregnant?"

"No. Not me. It's for a friend."

"Spencer."

"No. Wren, it really is for a friend." Spencer insisted. "I'm not pregnant."

He wanted to believe her, but he wasn't sure. He also wanted to help her. "I can help you and we can keep it quiet, but your friend will have to come in for some tests and follow-ups. I can't just give it to you."

"Okay. It's just that this is important and she can't ask her parents for help." Spencer said. "People could get in serious trouble if this gets out."

"I understand that, but I have to make sure everything is okay." Wren said. "Not just because I don't want to get in trouble, but because I care about your friend's safety. Do you understand?"

"Yes. I'll talk to her and call you back."

"Spencer, wait." Wren said before she could hang up. "How far along is your friend? There's a very small window of time."

"About a month. How long does she have?"

"It will work up to nine weeks after the first day of her last period." Wren explained.

"Okay. Thank you." Spencer hung up and looked at Aria. "He says you'll have to go in for some tests and stuff."

Aria nodded. "I know. All of that was in the information Mona printed for me. I'm okay with that as long as we can trust Wren not to say anything to anyone."

"He won't tell your parents unless he absolutely has to." Spencer said. "I trust him."

"How are you going to pay for this?" Hanna asked. "It can't be free."

"It's not." Aria said. "I haven't figured that out yet, but I will."

"How much is it?" Emily asked.

"Anywhere between $300 and $800." Mona replied. "Not cheap."

"I'll help." Spencer said.

"Me too." Emily agreed.

"We all will." Hanna added.

Aria shook her head. "I can't ask you guys to do that."

"You're not asking." Hanna said. "We're offering. It's different."

"Then I can't let you."

"Do you have that kind of money?" Emily asked.

"No, but I have an idea." Aria said.

Spencer knew her well and quickly figured out where she was going. "No Aria."

"How do you know what I'm thinking?" Aria asked.

"Because I know you, and I know who you know." Spencer said. "If you're not going to tell Ezra you're pregnant you can't ask his mother to pay for the abortion."

Hanna stared at Spencer. "Okay, how did you possibly figure out that that's what she was thinking?"

"What else would she be thinking?" Spencer replied. She turned back to Aria. "No. That's a stupid idea."

"Why? You know what she did to Maggie." Aria argued. "Diane tried to pay her to get an abortion. Do you really think she would want me to have this baby? A baby that would ruin Ezra's life? Why wouldn't she give me the money?"

"I'm not saying she wouldn't give you the money, because she would." Spencer said. "But you can't go to her behind Ezra's back. If he finds out somehow…"

"He'd never forgive you." Emily finished.

Aria knew they were right. It would be the easiest way to get the money, but she couldn't do it. She couldn't stand the possibility of Ezra finding out and hating her forever. It would be bad enough if he found out about the abortion. Finding out that she had asked his mother for help would only make it worse.

"Fine." She conceded. "You guys can help me pay for it, but you have to let me pay you back."

She looked around the room and her friends all nodded in agreement. She knew it was only because they were afraid that if they said no she would do something stupid. And she would. She was desperate. There was no possible way she could have this baby. And there was no way she would ever tell Ezra. It would crush him, and she couldn't do that.


	7. Chapter 7

The room was silent except for the quiet sound of pencils and test papers rustling, the occasional cough or click of a high heel as one of his students tapped her feet nervously. He was reading while the class took their test and he was aware of the fact that the foot tapping was unusual for this class. He looked up and realized it was Aria that was tapping.

She was bouncing her knees and chewing on her bottom lip like she did when she was anxious about something. She wasn't usually a nervous test taker, and this wasn't a big test. He couldn't help but wonder why she was so upset.

He noticed another student looking at her in annoyance and spoke up quietly. "Ms. Montgomery, could you please refrain from tapping your heels? You might be bothering your classmates."

"Sorry." She said.

Her reaction confused him even further. She sounded like she was mad at him, and if looks could kill he would be dead right now. Something was seriously bothering her. He wanted to know what it was, but decided that it could wait until after class.

He tried to go back to his book, but couldn't. He was concerned about Aria. She had missed an entire week of school and now she was acting very unlike herself. His phone buzzed in his desk drawer and he pulled it out to check the message, thinking that it might be about his son. It wasn't.

_One week absent, three weeks late. Looks like the teacher's pet is in trouble. –A_

A? He stared at his phone for a moment and then looked up at his class. His eyes went straight to Mona. Then to Spencer, Emily, Hanna, and finally Aria. He had thought that the A stuff was over. Mona had told him that the girls were trying to put it all behind them and he had seen them all around school acting as if they were friends. Is that why Aria was acting so strange? Was Mona tormenting her again?

He wanted to talk to Aria, but he kept Mona after class instead.

"Is something wrong, Mr. Fitz?" she asked innocently as the last of the students filed out of the room.

Ezra closed the door and picked up his phone, showing her the text. "I got this during class. Can you explain?"

Mona read the message and looked up at him. "No. I can't."

"Mona, I know you're A." Ezra said, his voice low. "Aria told me all about it when you went to Radley."

"I _was_ A." she corrected. "I didn't send you that message. I swear. The girls are finally starting to accept me. Why would I jeopardize that?"

He didn't mention the fact that she was Hanna's best friend while she was A. instead he continued to fish for some kind of explanation. "Do you have any idea what it means? Is Aria okay?"

"You'll have to ask her about it." Mona said.

"Do you know?" he repeated, almost demanding an answer.

She swallowed and squared her shoulders, ready to argue if she had to. "I do know, but I can't tell you. I won't risk loosing the progress I've made with the girls. You'll have to ask Aria."

Ezra realized that he wasn't going to get an answer out of her no matter how hard he pushed. He walked over and opened the door, but he had one more question. He kept his voice low as a couple of student came in. "Is there another A?"

Mona smiled so that no one would suspect anything was up. "Yes, Mr. Fitz. Thanks for answering my question."

Ezra tried to look like he wasn't completely freaked out and nodded. "That's what I'm here for."

The girls pounced on her when she came out of the room.

"What was that about?" Aria demanded.

"A sent him a message and he thought it was me." She told them.

"A sent him a message?" Spencer repeated.

"What did it say?" Emily asked.

Mona glanced at Aria who looked like she was going to be sick. "One week absent, three weeks late. Looks like the teacher's pet is in trouble. –A."

"So basically, A just told Ezra that I'm pregnant." Aria said.

"I don't think he's figured it out yet." Mona said. "He asked me if I knew what was going on."

"You didn't tell him, did you?" Aria demanded, looking panicked.

"No!" Mona said defensively. "Of course not! I told him I knew, but he needed to ask you about it."

"Mona!"

"I'm sorry! What was I supposed to do? Lie?"

"Like you don't have the best poker face in the world." Spencer said.

"I thought about it, but I couldn't." Mona said. "He looked like he was ready to kill me. He thought I was up to my old tricks again. I told him that I'm not, but I don't think he believes me."

Aria's phone rang and she hesitated before opening the message. It was from Ezra. With a sigh she announced that he wanted her to come by after school. "Apparently we need to talk."

"I wonder what that could possibly be about." Hanna said dryly.

Spencer shot her a look and turned back to Aria. "Are you going? Do you want us to come with you?"

Aria groaned in frustration. "I don't know. I let you know later. We're gonna be late."

The bell rang as the girls hurried off to their next classes. All of them were distracted the rest of the day, and Ezra was glad that today was a test day and he didn't have to attempt to teach. What was wrong with Aria?

A had said something about being three weeks late. Was she pregnant? It was possible. Certainly she would have told him if she was. Maybe someone was just playing a cruel joke on him.

But Mona had confirmed that there was another A. Or at least he thought she had. He wasn't sure what was going on or what to think about it. He hoped Aria came by after school. He needed answers.

**Author Note – I'm so glad y'all are enjoying this story! Thank you for all the comments, and thanks a ton to Brittana4ever for all the help with brainstorming! Hope it's not dragging for you since you know a little more than everyone else ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

Aria didn't stop by Ezra's classroom after school. Or his apartment. She didn't call him or text him. She had thought about it, but she knew he would ask her what was going on. He would want to know exactly what A was talking about, and she didn't want to tell him. She had made up her mind not to and she wasn't going to change it because of A. She was done letting A make decisions for her.

She was on her way to her car to meet the girls at Spencer's when she literally ran into him coming out of his classroom. She was so focused on what she was about to do that she hadn't even seen him and the collision knocked her off balance. She tried to regain her balance and failed, ending up in the floor with her books and papers strewn around her.

"Aria, are you alright?" Ezra asked, his voice and face full of concern.

She scrambled to gather her belongings, hastily snatching the things he had crouched to pick up, and refused when he reached out to help her up. She tried to bolt as soon as she was back on her feet because she didn't want to talk to him, but he grabbed her arm as she tried to get by him.

"Aria."

"I'm fine." She said, trying to pull free.

Ezra tightened his grip on her arm slightly and pulled her closer, giving her no choice but to look at him. "Aria. I got a text earlier. From A."

"I know. Mona told me." She wished he would let her go.

"I'm worried about you, Aria." He said. "If Mona's bothering you again…"

"Mona isn't bothering anyone." She said, cutting him off. "I can't do this right now, Ezra. I'm going to be late for my doctor's appointment."

He could see by the look on her face that she hadn't meant to add the last part, and it only made him worry more. "Doctor? Aria, please tell me if something's wrong. Are you alright?"

She felt bad about lying to him, but she refused to tell him the truth. Not now anyway. "No. Ezra, I'm fine. You don't need to worry about anything. Not me, not A. I'm fine. I have to go now."

He could see in her eyes that she wasn't fine. She was scared. He didn't want to let her go, but he knew it would only make things worse if he didn't. He let go of her arm and watched as she practically ran down the hall.

She managed to hold her emotions in until she parked in the road in front of Spencer's house. She couldn't hold the tears back any longer so she let them out, leaning forward and resting her forehead on her steering wheel.

The girls were all inside, waiting for her, but it wasn't one of her friends that found her crying in her car. She jumped when she heard the knock on her window and looked up to see Peter Hastings standing there, looking concerned.

She forced herself to stop crying and wiped the tears away as she leaned over to gather her purse from the passenger seat. By the time she pushed open her door and climbed out of her car she had managed to regain control, although she didn't look or feel like it.

"Aria, is everything alright?" Peter asked, touching her shoulder in a fatherly way.

She looked up at Spencer's dad and nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. I just had a fight with Jake, and I overreacted a little."

Peter didn't believe her, but he didn't think it was his place to pry. He was concerned because this girl was his daughter's best friend, but he didn't think she would open up and pour her heart out to him any time soon. If he continued to see signs that something was wrong he would mention it to Byron and Ella.

"Okay." He said. "The girls are all inside waiting for you."

"Thanks." She said and hurried inside where she found her friends in the living room.

Spencer was alarmed when she saw Aria's tear streaked face and rushed over to her. "Hey. What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Aria laughed dryly. "You're the third person that's asked me that since school let out. I'm fine. I just ran into Ezra on my way out and it didn't go very well."

"Did you tell him?" Hanna asked.

Aria shook her head. "No. Can we go now? I want to get this over with as soon as possible."

"Do you want to wash your face first?" Spencer asked, sounding like a mother.

Aria washed her face and didn't bother reapplying her makeup. She was certain she wasn't done crying today so there was no use in putting makeup on just to ruin it again.

The five of them piled into Spencer's car and they headed off to meet Wren at Rosewood Memorial, knowing very well that someone could see them. They had decided not to worry about that unless it happened.

Spencer had asked Wren for an exact price and, between them, they had managed to scrape together enough money to pay for the tests and medications Aria would need. Wren had promised to keep it as quiet as possible and not mention anything to anyone unless something went wrong and he had to. He was willing to help them, but he refused to put Spencer's friend, who he still thought was Spencer, in any kind of life threatening situation if he could help it.

He wasn't surprised to see all five of the girls when they came in, assuming that they were there to offer Spencer moral support. He was, however surprised to learn that it was in fact one of Spencer's friends that needed his help and not Spencer.

"I told you it was a friend." Spencer said when she saw the look on his face.

"Yes, but I thought…"

"Well, you thought wrong." Aria said.

The girls all noticed that he looked a little relieved to find out that Spencer wasn't the one that needed a secretive abortion.

They all piled into a room and Wren went over everything with them to make sure that Aria understood exactly what she was asking for. He thought it was touching that Spencer held her hand the entire time as the other three sat nearby, listening with concerned expressions on their faces. It occurred to him that he had never seen a more tightly knit group of friends, and he thought they were all lucky to have each other.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Wren asked once he finished explaining everything.

Aria squeezed Spencer's hand to keep from crying and nodded. "Yes. I'm sure. I don't have any other choice."

"There are other choices." He said. "Maybe you could talk it over with your parents?"

"No, there isn't any other choice and I can't talk it over with my parents." She said, almost angrily. "This is my only option. I'm sure this is what I want."

As she said the words she realized how wrong they were. This wasn't what she wanted. This was what she had to do. What she wanted was some way to have this baby. It hadn't occurred to her before now, and she felt her heart breaking as she insisted that what she wanted was to abort her baby. Ezra's baby.

She had been referring to the baby as an "it", hoping that she wouldn't get attached, but in her heart she knew that it wasn't an "it" growing inside her. It was a baby that she had created with the only man she had ever loved, and it hurt to know that she would never be able to hold him or her.

But no matter how much she wished she could keep the baby she knew she couldn't. If she kept the baby it was entirely possible that Ezra could end up in prison, and there was no way she was going to let that happen. She was determined to protect him no matter how much she had to hurt herself.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author Note – My original idea for this story was to have each of the Liars have to deal with making a big, possibly life-changing choice. But I'm not always so good at focusing on a large group of characters, so I decided to focus on Aria instead. I've come up with a good choice for Emily to have to make, so I've decided to make this into a series and focus each story on a different Liar. This one is obviously Aria's Choice.**

"Are you sure you want to be at school today?" Spencer asked as she and Aria joined the rest of their friends at a table in the cafeteria before school.

Aria sat between Paige and Spencer. "No, but I really don't want to miss any more school. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Spencer asked. She was worried about her friend and had become somewhat of a mother hen the last few days.

Aria nodded, but didn't reply.

"Are you sick again?" Paige asked, concern showing on her face. All of the girls had been acting a little jumpy lately. She knew A was still messing with them and couldn't help but wonder if it had gotten worse. They were usually pretty good at handling all the A drama. She was the one that freaked out over it.

Aria flashed her a small, grateful smile. "A little, but I'll be fine."

Paige glanced across the table at Caleb. He didn't look convinced either. Something was up.

Aria was nervous as she walked into Ezra's classroom later that day. She had taken the second medication two days ago. Wren had said that it could take a couple of days for her to abort, but that most women aborted within a few hours of taking the misoprostol. She hadn't, but she didn't think it would be much longer.

This morning she had decided it would be safe to come to school, but now she wasn't so sure. She was starting to have some light cramps, which was a sign that the medication was working. She tried not to look too freaked out as she walked into the room and took her seat beside Emily. She could only hope that the abortion waited until after school. She would much rather go through this at home, or at least not in front of her entire English class and the man that was half responsible for the situation she was currently in.

Ten minutes into the class she started feeling sick to her stomach and the cramps were getting worse. Ezra was standing in front of the class teaching, but he was watching her. He had noticed that something was wrong and was worried about her. The idea that she was pregnant was still in the back of his mind thanks to that text from A.

Emily leaned over and touched Aria's arm to get her attention. "Are you okay?"

Aria shook her head. "No. I need to go to the bathroom _right now_."

"Emily, Aria, is everything okay?" Ezra asked, somehow managing to sound like he was simply a concerned teacher that had noticed that one of his student looked like she wasn't feeling so well.

A severe cramp hit Aria suddenly and she doubled over in pain. Emily remained calm and acted quickly. "She's not feeling so well. Can we go to the bathroom?"

"Of course." Ezra said calmly. Now he knew something wasn't right and he wanted to follow them out of the room and help Aria, but he couldn't. Instead he watched as Emily and Spencer helped her out of her seat and toward the door. He didn't argue when Hanna and Mona got up to go with them. It would be useless to tell them to sit back down, and he knew that he would feel better if he knew that Aria had her friends with her. He wondered if he should send someone to get Ella, but decided to let the girls handle it. They seemed to have everything under control.

Just before they got out of the room Aria muttered something about feeling dizzy, doubled over, and vomited. The floor and at least three pairs of shoes were soiled and Emily and Spencer had lost their grip on Aria, who was swaying as if she might pass out.

It was clear that the girls had lost control of the situation. The class was panicking, and so was Ezra. He rushed forward to catch Aria before she hit the hard tile floor; something any human in their right mind would do no matter what the situation. Their teacher/student relationship had no bearing here.

Ezra was so worried about Aria as he held her hair away from her face while she continued to retch on the floor that he didn't even hear himself tell someone to go get her mother.

Hanna was closest to the door, and although she knew that Aria didn't want her mother to know, she was scared and worried about her friend. She dashed down eh hall to fetch Ella, who was alarmed when Hanna told her what had happened.

Mona had had sense enough to call 911 and announced that an ambulance was on its way to take Aria to the hospital.

Ella was worried about her daughter. She knew she had been out sick, but she had thought she was fine now. That clearly wasn't the case and she had to fight to keep herself under control when she saw her child curled up in the floor crying and throwing up. She didn't want to, but she let Ezra and the girls tend to Aria while she attempted to calm the rest of the class, calmly telling them to sit down and put their phones away. She couldn't believe that a few of them had actually decided to take video of the incident with their cell phones and had to make herself remain calm and not scream at them.

Her baby was obviously ill and in pain and these stupid teenagers were only worried about having the next Youtube sensation. She was appalled at their lack of respect for Aria, and extremely grateful that Ezra and the girls were able to remain so calm and help her daughter.

Aria was vaguely aware of the fact that her head was resting in Emily's lap and that Ezra was washing her face with a wet rag someone had mysteriously produced. She knew what had happened, and didn't think there was anything wrong. She had just lost her baby and the bulk of her reaction was emotional now, not physical, as she lay in the floor crying, knowing that she would be rushed to the hospital and her parents would be told that she had either miscarried or aborted a baby they had known nothing about.

Her heart was breaking for the child she would never hold and she was afraid of how her parents would react, but she was more afraid of how Ezra would react. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that he would soon find out what she had done.


	10. Chapter 10

Ella sprung up out of her seat when the doctor walked into the waiting room. She had been clinging to Byron as they waited to hear if their daughter would be alright, but she didn't think twice about letting go of him now. All that mattered right now was finding out if Aria was okay.

The doctor was middle aged and bald. He wore glasses and a white coat over his green scrubs. He looked exactly like what you think of when you think of a doctor. Someone that could remain clam in a crisis and knew what he was doing. This was some comfort to Ella as she walked over to him.

"Is she okay? What happened?" she demanded, sounding every bit like a worried mother who thought she might lose her child.

The doctor spoke in a low, soothing voice. "She's going to be just fine, Mrs. Montgomery. Physically anyway. She may have some emotional issues to deal with, but I can't help with that."

"Emotional issues?" Byron repeated, coming to stand beside his wife. "What do you mean?"

"Well," the doctor said. "It looks like your daughter was pregnant. A little over a month."

Byron and Ella were both stunned at this news. Ella was speechless and could only stare at the doctor. Byron put his arm around his ex-wife, trying to offer some comfort.

"Did she miscarry?" he asked.

"Possibly." The doctor said. "But it looks like she had a medicine abortion."

The doctor explained the procedure as simply as he could because he didn't think that the Montgomerys could handle all the medical jargon at the moment. "Usually the abortion with occur a few hours after the second medication is taken, but it looks like your daughter was one of the few women that take a few days. I think it's safe to say she was fairly surprised and not expecting it to happen in the middle of class."

Mike had stayed in his seat across the room until the doctor left. As soon as his parents were alone he rushed over to make sure he still had a sister. "Is she okay? What did the doctor say?"

"Aria's going to be just fine." Byron assured his son, not wanting to explain what had happened. He was still in shock over the whole thing.

Ella, however, seemed to have no problem spitting out the truth. Or at least half of it. "She miscarried."

Mike stared at them, shifting his gaze from one parent to the other. "Miscarried? She was pregnant? Why didn't she say anything?"

"She was probably scared." Byron said.

Mike had a pretty good idea of who the father was and didn't blame his sister for being scared. She had good reason to be scared if Mr. Fitz, who he refused to call by his first name like the rest of his family, had gotten her pregnant. Even if he hadn't been her teacher at the time it could still get him in trouble if anyone found out that they had been together when he was her teacher.

He knew Aria well enough to know that that was probably her main concern. What would happen to Mr. Fitz, not what would happen to her. Typical Aria, he thought, worried about everyone else but herself.

Mike sensed that his parents hadn't told him everything, but he didn't push them. No one in Rosewood ever told the whole truth. Everyone kept secrets. That was why he wanted to get out as soon as he could. He was sick of the lies and secrets, and tired of the looks he got from his friends because of the trouble his sister and her friends caused.

He knew they didn't mean to cause trouble for everyone, but they did. And this was just one more thing that would put his family in the spotlight. He was certain that everyone at school already knew what had happened in the middle of Mr. Fitz' class, and he knew it wouldn't be long before everyone was spreading rumors about what they thought had happened.

As he followed his parents back to Aria's room he wondered if it was a bad sign that he was used to hearing gossip and rumors involving his sister and her friends. He thought it should bother him more, but it didn't. Not after everything that had happened since Alison DiLaurentis' funeral.

He suddenly found himself wishing that Aria had never met Alison. Maybe everything would be normal.


	11. Chapter 11

Aria wasn't sure what to expect when she came downstairs the next morning. She was ready for school, but not ready for the looks and whispers from her classmates. At least she knew she had at least four people that wouldn't stare at her as if she were some kind of freak. Six if she counted Paige and Caleb, who would surely be concerned and ask questions, but she could handle that.

She wasn't looking forward to Ezra's class either. Partly because it had happened there, but mostly because she knew he would want to know what was going on. She had decided last night that she would have to tell him the truth at some point, but she didn't know when or how. She really didn't want to sit through an hour of him trying to teach while staring at her as if she might faint.

"Aria." Byron called from the living room as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

She turned and saw her whole family gathered in the living room. One look at her parents and she knew her worried about school were unfounded. She wouldn't be going to school today.

"You're not going to school today." Ella confirmed. "We need to have a little talk."

"That's an understatement, Mom." Aria said as she sat down on the sofa beside her brother.

"Why didn't you tell us you were pregnant?" Byron asked.

Aria was surprised at his calm manor. She had expected him to yell or threaten to call the police and turn Ezra in. This only made her more wary of what might happen.

"Well, I didn't think you would be thrilled to hear the news." She admitted. "I was scared."

Ella wanted to reach out and hold her daughter, but she didn't. This wasn't exactly the time for comforting. Right now, they needed to get everything out in the open and figure out how they were going to handle this. Then they could cry.

"Is that why you did what you did?" Ella asked.

Aria looked at her mother and her heart broke. Ella looked like she was about to cry. Aria couldn't stand that so she looked down at her hands folded in her lap. "Partly, but mostly because I was afraid of what might happen to Ezra. It was an accident, and I thought that if I could take care of it myself…no one would have to know, and no one would get in trouble."

"Wait," Mike said, cutting off his mother's response. "Take care of it? Mom said you miscarried."

Aria shook her head. "No. I had a medication abortion."

"What's that?" Mike asked, suddenly feeling an urge to hug his sister and cry. It had been one thing when he had thought she had miscarried her baby, but now that he knew she had chosen to abort it he wasn't sure what to think or feel.

"I took a pill that caused me to abort." She explained. "It was supposed to happen a few hours after I took the second medication, but it took a few days instead and I aborted in the middle of class."

"What I don't understand is, if you knew it was going to happen, why did you go to school?" Ella asked, desperately wanting to understand what had gone through her daughter's head that had made her take this method of action instead of talking to her parents.

"Nothing had happened since I took that second pill, and I didn't want to miss anymore school." Aria explained, fighting back tears. "I started having some cramps early in the day, and I should have gone home right then, but I thought I'd be okay until after school. I didn't realize the timing would be so ironic."

"So this was Ezra Fitz's baby?" Byron asked, finally starting to look upset.

Aria nodded. "He doesn't know."

"Are you still seeing him?" Byron demanded. "I this Jake guy some kind of decoy?"

"No. Dad, I broke up with Ezra when he started teaching at Rosewood again." She assured him, deciding to be honest now that the relationship was over. "It didn't feel the same anymore with Maggie and Malcolm in the picture. I didn't feel like I fit in anymore. I'm not part of the family, and with Ezra's job…I just thought it would be best if we ended it. So I did."

"But you got pregnant." Ella said, slightly confused about the order of events.

"I was pregnant before I ended it, but I didn't know until after." Aria clarified. "I didn't tell you guys because I was afraid of how you would react, and I didn't tell Ezra because I was afraid he would do something stupid and I didn't want to be the reason his life was ruined. He had nothing to do with this."

"Of course he did." Byron said. "He got you pregnant. He put you in this situation. I understand why you want to protect him but…"

"Dad, I put myself in this situation!" She yelled. "When we found out that he was my teacher he tried to break it off. I'm the one that pursued it, not him. If I had listened to him then none of this would've ever happened. It's my fault. _That's_ why I want to protect Ezra. _That's_ why I killed my baby!"

Byron, Ella, and Mike sat in stunned silence as Aria ran from the room and out of the house, crying. None of them went after her because they were all too shock to move. The emotion in that last sentence had shaken them all, and none of them knew how to react.


	12. Chapter 12

Aria knew she was in no shape to go to school, and she certainly wasn't ready to go back home and face her family again. Her friends were all at home and she didn't think it would be a good idea to seek comfort with any of their parents. She thought about calling Jake but how would she explain why she was so upset? She didn't know where to go so she just walked.

She didn't realize where her feet were taking her until she was halfway to Ezra's apartment. But why? Ezra wouldn't be there. Surely he was at school where she should be. She could let herself in and wait for him to come home, but she didn't see much sense in that. Why should she sit in an empty apartment for hours?

She stopped on the sidewalk and, folding her arms across her stomach, sighed. She didn't know what to do and she was suddenly reminded of her now empty womb as she hugged her stomach.

"Aria?"

She recognized his voice, but didn't turn to look at him. Instead she started walking again, continuing on toward Ezra's apartment. She hoped that maybe if she ignored him he wouldn't follow her.

But she was wrong. He chased after her and grabbed her arm when he caught up to her. "Aria."

This time she turned and looked up at him because she didn't have much choice, but she didn't say anything. What could she possibly say?

"What's wrong?" Jake asked when he saw the tears in her eyes.

"Jake, I…" she blinked back the tears as she stumbled over her words. "I don't know what to tell you."

He gently pulled her out of the walk way and pulled her in close, wrapping her in a comforting hug. "That's okay. Do you want me to take you somewhere? Home? School? Can I do anything?"

She wanted to tell him something because he was being so sweet, but she didn't know what. She hadn't talked to Ezra yet, so she wasn't about to tell Jake. Not yet. "No. I'll be okay. Thanks."

He let go when she pulled away and looked down at her pretty face. He could tell that something was seriously upsetting her, but he had no idea what and she didn't want to tell him. "Well, I'm here if you need anything. Call me?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Thanks."

He watched her walk away and wondered if this had anything to do with Ezra. She had told him about their relationship and he was pretty sure she was still in love with him. He hated thinking that she was only dating him because she couldn't be with Ezra right now, but he really liked her so he would give it some more time and see what happened.

Aria walked the rest of the way to Ezra's apartment and let herself in, intending to sit and wait for him to come home so she could tell him what she had done. She froze halfway in when she saw him sitting on the sofa staring at a half empty glass of scotch. He looked up at her when he heard the door open.

"I thought you would be at school." She said as she stepped inside and closed the door. "I need to talk to you about something."

"Are you pregnant?" he asked.

She opened her mouth to answer and burst into tears again, falling into his arms when he jumped up and rushed over to her. She held on for dear life as her hot tears soaked his shirt. It felt so good to be back here, in this apartment with Ezra holding her. She never wanted to leave.

Ezra wanted to know what was going on. He wanted answers, and he was scared. A had sent him another cryptic text that had alluded to pregnancy, and now he was almost certain that Aria's tears were confirmation.

At first he was excited. Aria was pregnant! But the feeling faded quickly. Aria was his student again. This was bad.

When her tears finally subsided he handed her a tissue and led her to the couch. He didn't think this was a conversation they needed to have standing in the middle of the room. He brushed her hair back from her face and, letting his hand linger because he missed touching her, looked into her eyes.

"We'll get through this." He promised. "We'll figure something out."

"No, Ezra." She said and hiccupped. "We don't need to figure anything out. I'm not pregnant."

He was confused. "This would sound bad in almost any other situation, but that's a good thing, right?"

She nodded as another tear slid down her cheek. "Yes, but I _was_ pregnant."

He remembered the scene in class yesterday and thought he understood what happened. "You miscarried. Aria…"

"I aborted." She corrected quietly, almost fearing his reaction.

Ezra was stunned. All he could do was stare at her with his mouth hanging open. "You…what?"

Aria couldn't look at him as she explained what she had done and why. He had looked so shocked when she had said it. All the color had drained out of his face and now, when she looked up at him once more after her explanation, he looked so hurt.

"Ezra, I didn't really have much of a choice." She said, trying to justify her actions when he didn't say anything. She reached for his hand, hoping to make him understand. "I was afraid someone would figure it out and you could lose your job, or worse. Ezra…"

He pulled his hand away from hers and scooted away from her, putting a little distance between them. When he looked at her his eyes were hurt and angry. "Aria, I get why you did it. What I don't get is why you didn't tell me. It was my child too, right?"

"Yes, but I…" she broke off, unnerved by the coldness of his voice. When Ezra was mad at her she felt like a kid, or like he thought she was a kid. For her, that was the worst feeling in the world. "Ezra, I didn't want you to get hurt. I was afraid that if I told you…"

"What?" he demanded. "What were you afraid of? What made you think you couldn't come to me? You've _always_ been able to come to me."

"I was afraid you might do something stupid!" She practically spat the words at him because his were only making her feel worse. "I'm sorry, Ezra, but that's all there is to it. I know I should've told you. The girls begged me too but I had my mind made up. I thought I could protect you from…this. I'm sorry."

His breath came out in a short puff that seemed to say "Of course."

The fact that she had told her friends didn't surprise him. It stung a little that she had told them and not him. It was his baby after all, not theirs.

He sighed heavily and looked at her. He was still hurt and a little mad that she hadn't told him, but yelling at her wasn't fair. She was obviously upset. He scooted back and put his arms around her, kissing her forehead when she rested her head on his shoulder. This time her cried with her.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author Note – This is the last chapter guys! Thank you so much for reading and commenting! I hope you all stick around to see what happens in the next story in my Choices series. It's Emily's turn!**

"What's going on with the whole…baby thing?" Emily asked as she and Aria walked out of the Brew. "Is Ezra still mad?"

Aria shrugged as they walked, ignoring the stares and whispers of her neighbors. "It's only been two days, Em. He's not exactly skipping off to work in the mornings. You saw how he looked at me in class today."

Emily wasn't sure how to describe that look, but she had seen it, and she had wanted to say something to him after class. She didn't because she knew it wouldn't help the situation any.

"We had a family meeting last night to figure out how to handle it." Aria said. "What to tell people. Mom insisted on Ezra being there since he was part of it. If you could've seen the look on my dad's face. I swear I thought I he was gonna jump up and rip Ezra's head off!"

"What did you decide?" Emily asked, wishing there was something she could do to make the situation easier for Aria.

"I didn't abort, I didn't miscarry, I was never pregnant." Aria said. "I have PMDD."

"Are you okay with telling people that?"

"As long as it doesn't get Ezra in trouble."

Emily gave her a sympathetic smile. She knew that Aria would tell people she was possessed by demons if it would keep Ezra out of trouble. She may be trying to move on, but she would always love him.

"He told Maggie."

"Really?"

Aria nodded. "She called me and said that she would probably have done the same thing if she had been in my situation. She said that I could call her if I needed to talk, but I don't think she really meant it."

"She doesn't like you, does she?"

"I don't know. She's definitely not overly fond of me." Aria replied. "And I just can't wait to see what his mom has to say if she ever finds out."

"I don't think you have to worry about that." Emily said. "I doubt Ezra will be calling his mom to fill her in any time soon."

Aria laughed, but she wasn't sure why. It wasn't exactly funny.

"Hello ladies." Paige greeted them as she came around the corner.

Aria smiled at her and Emily kissed her.

"Are you feeling better, Aria?" Paige asked.

"Yeah."

"You look like it." Paige said with a smile. "I heard something about PMDD. That sucks."

Aria looked at Paige and decided that it would be okay to tell her the truth. Emily trusted her and that was enough for Aria. "Especially since it isn't true."

"What?"

Emily was surprised and it showed on her face. "Aria, you don't have to."

"I want to." Aria said. "I plan on telling Caleb and Toby too. I trust them."

Paige smiled, happy that Aria trusted her enough to tell her something that was obviously not a small thing. She had no idea what it could be though, and when Aria explained she was stunned as everyone else had been. She was also in awe of Aria's strength and ability to make such a choice and handle it pretty much on her own.

Emily couldn't help but smile as she listened to the two of them talk. They were bonding, which was exactly what she wanted to happen.

It was getting dark and Emily told herself that her eyes were playing tricks on her when she caught a glimpse of someone ducking into an alley as they approached. Even so she looked to see if she had actually seen who she thought she had seen.

It was impossible, but part of her still wanted to believe that it could happen. She didn't see anyone in the alley, but she could have sworn she had seen Maya.

Her phone rang and she pulled in out to check the message. It was from A, but she didn't say anything to Paige and Aria.

_She's dead, Em. Stop looking. Kisses, A_

The fact that A was reminding her that Maya was dead told her that something was up. She didn't know what, but she glanced back toward the alley hoping to see something. There was nothing and no one there. At least not that she could see.

_She's dead. Stop looking._

Was it possible that Maya was still alive?


End file.
